Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold edged down 0.1%, closing under $1,326 despite soft inflation and retailing data, as the dollar inched higher and oil prices declined, curtailing demand for alternative stores of value.

Matching yesterday's CPI reading, the Producer Price Index rose 0.2% in February, signaling mild wholesale inflation. Most of the increase came in air travel, telecom cost, and lodging. Prices for wholesale goods fell 0.1%.

US retail sales fell for the third straight month in February, according to the Commerce Department, with the declines centered in auto sales, department stores, and gasoline receipts. It marked retailing's first three-month losing streak since 2012.

Despite the downbeat data, the dollar inched 0.1% higher as the euro sank after ECB chief Mario Draghi said quantitative easing will continue until "subpar" inflation approaches 2%. A stronger dollar tends to pressure commodities like gold that are priced in dollars for global trade by making them more expensive in other currencies.

Further pressuring gold, oil prices declined 0.6% after US government data showed an unexpectedly large rise in domestic crude supplies. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals also finished lower, with silver falling 0.5% while platinum and palladium slid 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

At the Comex close: April gold edged down $1.50 to $1,325.60; May silver slipped 9 cents to $16.54; April platinum dropped $5.80 to $961.50; and June palladium lost $6.85 to $984.75 an ounce.